All I keep thinking about with the ZC injury -- and it makes me feel worse and worse -- is all the times after every loss last season Collaros stood up and took the blame. Each one crushed him. He never turned down an interview. He never backed away from covering up for what were many other people's mistakes.

He suffered through all of that last year to guide this team back to the point it is at now. Then to have the shining moment he worked so hard for stolen from him still makes me sick to my stomach. Yes, he's in great spirits. And yes, he's going to do everything he can to help this team. But there is only so much he can do. Seeing him on crutches yesterday returned that punch to the gut feeling of seeing the cart driven on to the field Saturday.

He's was a great football player here, but a much better person. He'll be successful in whatever he does in life, but of everyone, he deserved most the feeling of leading this team to a Big East title. He would have cherished it more than anyone.

Sad story. But hopefully Munchie and company can deliver a happy ending.

--- While standing in the hallway outside the press conference room waiting for a few players to stroll by, the elevator slides open to find Isaiah Pead, a camera, boom mic and producer. Pead was giving one of the Campus Tour's for ESPNU.

Needless to say to anybody who has spoken with the enigmatic senior running back, he was perfect for guided tour of the UC football facilities.

"They said to just have fun," he said. "Make it kind of like MTV Cribs. I have seen that show a couple times."

Pead smiled like a guy who watches the Cribs Season 2 DVD Outtakes once a week.

Of course, he couldn't let us media types get away without having a little fun. He stole my recorder from me and flipped the interview script around to the other side. With the cameras rolling, you have to play along. I'll only say I was about as entertaining and engaging as a hat rack. If I make the show, ESPNU should probably draft a statement that they've reached a new low.

Word from UC's crack SID staff was the piece will air sometime next week. So keep an eye out of that.

Pead wasn't done delivering the goods, though.

Once the Cribs cameras went away, he went on to talk about how he was the person to host Munchie Legaux on his campus visit almost two years ago. It went so well Legaux decommitted from Colorado and signed with UC.

According to Pead, he's the best recruiter the Bearcats have. Step aside Kerry Coombs.

"Me, not to toot my own horn, but I have a good
record of pulling recruits," he said. "I am 5-1."

It will only take a few wins to make him a household name, only because the name is so memorable. --- Yesterday during the press conference Jones addressed a question about being aggressive on the final drive instead of settling for a field goal. He pointed out UC did in fact take shots into the end zone before attempting the 31-yarder.

For those of you complaining about a lack of aggression, that wasn't necessarily the case. "Actually, two plays prior to the field goal attempt, we had a play for
the end zone," Jones said. "It was a wheel route to Isaiah and he was wide
open. We didn't execute the play. We took a crack in the end zone and we
felt had a great play called on the third down play, and we had a
fundamental breakdown. When you look at the film, every play is designed
to score, we just didn't execute it. That's the thing is that the game
is played by human beings and not robots. We can get out and draw the
plays to be successful but we have to execute them. We had some great
play calls. We just didn't execute them."--- Three injury updates came from Jones. Linebackers Maalik Bomar and Nick Temple should be back while TE Travis Kelce is questionable for Saturday's game at Rutgers. --- Dan Hoard writes about the role of the backup quarterback being a familiar storyline for the Bearcats. This is the sixth consecutive season the backup started at least one game.

In games where the backup was forced to play because the starter was out of the game, he calculates UC's record as 11-1.

--- If you were looking for the theme from last night's basketball victory over Jacksonville State, you can read my postgame column here. That was pretty much all that was talked about. There was little optimism, there was little joking. Among other things, that's why I didn't bother with The Morning After. The column sums it up.

Oh, and Yancy Gates dribbled down the court, slipped the ball behind his back and buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer. My favorite part, all the while, Dion Dixon, who was on fire from 3-point range all half, yelled for the ball behind him.

Yancy had no intention of passing that ball. It was showtime and he knew it.

--- Before you complain about only beating Jacksonville State by 14, think about the fact UCLA lost to Middle Tennessee State...in Los Angeles. --- Sports signs should be held to a creative accountability. Just because you can make Hotto rhyme with Votto doesn't mean you should display it for 42,000 to see.